Trouser cuff and pocket cleaner



March 31, 1953 J. o. DEVAU 2,632,902

TRousER cuFE AND POCKET CLEANER Filed May 2o, 1949 2 sl-lEETs-SHEET 1 www@ m ATTO RN EYS J. O. DEVAU TROUSER CUFF AND POCKET CLEANER March 31, 1953 Filed May 20, 1949 2 SHEETS- SHEET 2 #a INVENTOYR. d cfseyf ATTE R N EYS Patented Mar. 31, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRUSER. .CUFF AND POCKET' CLEANER Joseph 0. Devau, Derby Line, Vt.

Application May 20, 1949, Serial No.194g33'1 3 Claims- 1 Y My present invention :relates to the general class of motord .n brushing appliances 'for wearing apriarel. and moresnecilieally to an improved trouser-cuff and pocket cleaner o f the portable, rotary brush type. that 1S .especially de signed forcommercial use in cleaning' dust lint and accumulated dirt from .the folds of trousercuffs, pockets o f garments used cloths. and oth v er portions ci apparel that are usually inaccessible in dryeoleaning operations. In use, the cuiffends .of trouserelegs. or the -pocket of a garment, are .suspended by vhand within the dust tight cleaner, the accumulated debris is thoroughly and quickly removed by the brushes from the folds o .f ,the cuffs, or from other gar.- ment materials, and :the materials from the brushes are conveyed-.by gravity through a conveyor-chute and deposited withina removable and dust-tight receptacle, or collection-drawer located within the cleaner or appliance.

The appliance includes a `minimum number of parts that may be manuiaetured with ,facility"and low cost of production, and the parts may be assembled with convenience to assure a garment cleanerv of this type that is durable, simple in construction and operation, and eicient the periormanee .of ,functionsA The invention consists in certain novel Areatures of4 construction and .combinations and arrangements of parts .as will hereinafter be described,v and more particularly set forth the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings I have illust-rated a complete example of a` physical embodiment of my invention in Whichthe yparts are combi-ned and arranged in accord with one mode I have devised for the practical appl-ication of the principles of the invention. It will however be understood that changes and alterations are contemplated and may be made in these exemplifying drawings and mechanical structures within the scope of my claims without departing from' the principles of the invention.

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the cleaner; and Figure 2 is a sectional View at right angles thereto.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view at line 8-3 of Fig. l; and Figure 4 is a sectional view at line 4--4 of Fig. 1.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view at line 5 5 of Fig. 1.

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view at line 6--6 of Fig. 2.

Figure 7 is a perspective view showing the relation of the chute to the drawer.

2 Figure 8 is a detail view at the top of the cabinet showing the auxiliary brush and its use;

and

Figure 9 is .an enlarged detail view partly in section disclosing the construction of a modifled form of auxiliary brush.

In the preferred form of the invent-ion `shown in the drawings I utilize a portable cabinet l of suitable metal and generally rectangular in shape, which is provided with caster wheels 2 beneath its bottom, and the open-top cabinet is equipped with a hinged cover :3 having 4an inclined top wall or front face, the hinge 4 be.- ng located at the back wall .of the cabinet.

For cleaning purposes the cuff ends of the trouser legs as I Figs. 2 and .8, or the pocket P of a garment in Fig. 5, are inserted by hand through an opening 5 formed within an clon. gated slot of the cover, and the outcurved flanges 6 about the entrance opening or slot provide a smooths-surfaoe interiorly anged entrance nozzle for feeding and guiding the cuirs to the cleaning brushes.

The front Wall of the cabinet is fashioned withA a lower opening to accommodate a removable drawer 1 havingan exterior handle 8, and the back vwall .or inner wall 9 4is cut-away so that the height of the back wall 9 is less than the height of the side walls or the front wall, as indicated in Fig. *7. The drawer is designed to receive and collect the debris from the brushes,

and it is slidable on a pair ,of elevated rails I0, l0 supported on the inner faces .of the Walls of the cabinet. The cabinet Vprovides a dust-tight enclosure, andthe drawer is Vneatlyfitted within z the 'cabinet' to prevent escape of dust; and of. course .the drawer is removed to permit disposal of accumulated or collected dust, dirt, or lint, and then returned or replaced within the cabinet for further use.

The two oppositely rotating brushes Il and l2, which are mounted in the cabinet and located within the hinged cover parallel with the entry opening or slot 5 and just beneath the slot, are designed and set to have a beating action as they brush the cuirs which dangle through the slot and are held in suspension by the hands of the operator. Each of the brushes is equipped with a shaft as I3, and the shafts are journalled in bearings I4 mounted upon a frame I5 attached to the walls of the cabinet, and the bearings or brackets project upwardly into the interior of the cover to support the brushes, suliicient clearance being provided for opening and closing the hinged top or cover of the cabinet.

The two shafts are provided with intermeshing spur gears I6 and I'I, preferably of ber, and the shaft I3 of brush I2 is provided with a driven pulley I8 over which a belt I9 passes from a drive pulley 20 on the shaft of a motor M; and this electric motor is supported on a suitable stand as S mounted in the cabinet above the drawer, and provided with a cable C and suitable electrical controls, receiving power from an electrical connection to a source of energy.

Between the upper brushes and the lower collection drawer a gravity conveyor for the dust from the brushes is interposed, which forms a chute having side walls 2l with holes 22 near its upper edges to accommodate the shafts I3 and the top inclined edges of the side walls are notched as at 24 to fit around the opposite ends of the nozzle, spout, or neck 6 of the cover.

The chute has an open top and open front, and the latter is bounded by a pair of laterally spaced upright flanges as 25 that are preferably welded to the inner face of the front wall of the cabinet, with the lower open end of the chute depending slightly into the open drawer, but terminating just above the top edge of the back wall 9 of the drawer, to permit insertion and removal of the drawer.

The back wall 26 of the chute declines from the short vertical wall 21 to form a deector plate i? beneath the brushes to deflect and guide the debris from the brushes to the drawer, and to clear the motor assembly, with its driving mechanism exterior of the chute.

In Figs. 1 and 8 the cover 3 is provided on the opposite ends thereof with tubular supports 40 and these supports are adapted to selectively receive the lower end of the L-shaped handle 4I. The opposite end of the handle is provided with a plurality of bristles forming the long slender auxiliary brush 42. The brush 42 is provided for use in cleaning the inside folds of the cuffs that are closely tacked or stitched to the legs of the trousers. As indicated in Fig. 8 the cuff is held, exteriorly of the cabinet, with the slender brush 42 inserted within the fold of the cui and the cuff is passed to and fro along the xed'brush to remove otherwise inaccessible dust, dirt or lint. The handle 4I at the end receivable in the supports 40 is provided with a stop collar 43 which limits the entrance of this end into the supports 40. As shown the handle 4I can be positioned at either end of the cover 3.

In Fig. 9 a modified form of auxiliary brush 28 is shown and the shaft 29 of the brush 28 is inserted in a socket 30 of shaft 3l having a hand knob 32 for turning the brush, and the shaft 3| is journalled in a bearing sleeve 33 integral with a bearing bracket 34 that is rigidly mounted upon the cover 3 of the -cabinet and movable therewith.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a motor-driven garment-cleaner the combination with a cabinet having a cover hinged to the top thereof, said cover being provided with an interiorly flanged entrance nozzle, a pair of rotary brushes and shafts therefor journalled in the cabinet within the cover adjacent the interiorly flanged entrance nozzle, a chute having an open top and an open front with the open front being bounded by laterally spaced upright flanges which are secured to the inner surface of the cabinet so that the chute extends around the sides of the brushes, a removable collection drawer having a rear wall of less height than the side and rear walls thereof positioned in the lower end of the cabinet so that the chute terminates within the drawer just above the top edge of the rear wall of the drawer to permit insertion and removal of the drawer, the side Walls of the chute having openings therein for said shafts, and notches in the upper edges of the side walls to fit around the interiorly flanged entrance nozzle.

2. In a motor-driven garment-cleaner as in claim l wherein said chute is provided with a forwardly and downwardly inclined deflector plate which is formed by a portion of the rear wall of the chute and which extends beneath the brushes.

3. In a motor-driven garment-cleaner as in claim 1 wherein a motor is mounted in said cabinet exteriorly of said chute and said motor has driving connection with said shafts for the rota` tion of said brushes.

JOSEPH O. DEVAU.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS (2 pages) 

